Devils Lake inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, Ramsey Co., Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1905, 1887-12-10
PRINTED PAGES REPRODUCED
BY h "Washout" Gelatine Process.
Utilizing the Sun,a RaYa.

~ OCA"bAA A4OC0S0s
Utilizing the Sum- Rays.
The English edition of an encyclopedia
IS being reproduced entire, in exact fac
smile, without n line of type being set.
The process by which it is being done, like
many inventions of the kind, is extremely
simple, and yet requires such delicacy in
handling that it has taken years of careful
experimenting to bring it to its present
state of perfection. The 20, 900 pages ard
the thousands of illustrations making up
the encyclopedias are being reproduced by
just this miXture-plain, common gela-
tine, such as you use at home in your
cooking. Nothing more, except u few
chemicals, ordinary brushes that can be
bought anywhere for q quarter, and
nothing less.
The idea of the '~'washout" gelatine pro-
cess is not a new one. 1t certainly dates
back a dozen years. But it was in 1884
that the patent under which the ~encyclo-
padia is being reproduced was first OBJ
tanned. But then it was not practical. In
two or three years several different own
ers of the patent found it an elephant on
their hands, and because they could not
work it practically-in other words, ''to
make money out of it''-failed. Finally
a year ago it began to assume a more
practical shape, and the company then
working it took the contract from a firm
of New York publishers to reproduce the
encyclopedia. Like many new things the
process was Cranky" and refused to
work practically. and steadily enough to
produce the result aimed at. The thing
dragged along, until finally last April the
company made an assignment, and its
plant and patent were bought by a former
member of The Boston Globes staff. He
saw what simple changes were needed
to make the process q success, and now
plates for the new popular reprint of the
encyclopaedia are being turned out COM
plete and ready for the press at the rate of
500 a week, while it seems that in the
near future there will be practically no
limit to the number of books that may be
reproduced without setting a line of type.
1t is the simplest thing in the world
that is, TO explain on paper. Gelatine,
when prepared by this secret process, has
the property of becoming almost as hard
as metal when exposed to the sunlight,
and remaining soft and soluble when kept
in the dark. When in q liquid state it is
u out into thin sheets about ''type
high"
There is no international copyright. A
copy of the English edition of the ency-
clopndia is cut up and carried to the pho
tographers' room in this engraving estab-
lishment. The pages are put in front of
large cameras and photographed. The
result is a black and white negative
densely black and absolutely translucent,
making a fac simile of the type pages.
In the negative the black part Of the page
that is the type matter-is translucent,
and the white part of tho page-that is,
the paper-is densely black.
These negatives are next placed in
frames over the sheets of g%elatine and ex-
posed to the sunlight. Where the sun
shines through the negative the gelatine
becomes almost as hard as metal; where
the black portion of the negative
protects the gelatine it remains soft
and soluble. The gelatine sheet
thus printed" is taken into a
dark room and washed with a brush and
ordinary water. The soluble portion dis.
appears, leaving the hardened part-that
is, the type-standing up in bold relief.
It is practically exactly like a page of
type set up and ready for the press. The
gelatine plate is then electrotyped and
from these electrotypes the book printed,
The illustrations are made in the same
way. A dot or a line so fine that it can
be seen only with the aid of a microscope
''comes out" in the negative, and the
minute ray Of the sui that shines through
that infinitesmal aperture hardens its in.
fnitesmal molecule of gelatine.
English and other uncopyrighted works
are now being reproduced by American
publishers cheaper than they can be set in
| type, and without the trouble and delay
OF looking over proof sheets, etc. Az